Loss
by Jewel1001
Summary: The team is put up against a personal loss that they might not be able to cope with. Can they bind together to get themselves through a tragedy or will it rip apart their relationships? Kid Flash/Robin friendship, Kid Flash/Artemis.
1. Chapter 1

Set between Series 1 and 2, up to the reader to decide exactly when. All that's definite is that this is before Wally and Artemis left the team and before Tula was killed. Apologies if I've messed up the names anywhere.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

The air in the room was thick and tense; nobody dared to speak and they all breathed as silently as possible. Five people, all left alone with their thoughts, took what little comfort they could from one another's presence but it wasn't enough. Nothing would be enough until the sixth entered the room again.

It was the original team who were gathered at the mountain. Although their team had expanded, they all remembered the time when six young heroes were bound together by their only true common denominator - their loyalty to fighting 'the good fight', as Batman referred to it - and fought against whatever villains they were assigned to. It had been some time since the team had consisted of those six young heroes.

Things had changed, and not just the team gaining new members until the numbers rose into double digits. Relationships within the teams were always changing and the individual team members themselves were doing the same thing. At this time, perhaps the only person who had yet to undergo a major change was Kaldur. Dick - as he was now known to the team, having confided his true identity to them a short while ago - had retired from his role as Robin, partner to the Batman, and was creating a new hero identity for himself. Conner and M'gann had recently ended their relationship and were seated as far from each other as possible; at any other time they would have been a source of tension but now the situation was too desperate for the focus to be on them. The tension had come from another change: the relationship that had been formed between Wally and Artemis.

Artemis was the missing team member, the one on the other side of the door to the medical bay outside which the rest of the team was gathered. Wally was the closest to the door, head hung low and eyes focused firmly on the floor.

Nobody dared to break the uncomfortable silence that had captured them, each preferring to handle their emotions privately. This was partially because nobody quite knew what to make of the whole situation. They had barely gotten used to the idea of ... well, of what had been going to happen, and now it seemed that the event they had been so confused by might not happen after all.

Eight weeks ago, Artemis and Wally had announced to the team - the other four original members only - that they may have to leave the team in a few months. It had been an abrupt announcement and Kaldur, still the leader, had naturally questioned them. He had not been prepared, though, for the answer.

Artemis had fallen pregnant. When she and Wally had told the team, she had been six weeks into her pregnancy. Now, she was fourteen weeks into it, just into her second trimester. Their plan had been for her to continue working - largely from the cave so as to keep her out of harm's way - as part of the team until it was no longer a viable option, when she and Wally would both retire.

Nobody else in the team - not even Zatanna or Rocket, two of the earlier members of the expanded team - had been let in on the secret. Hardly anyone in the League knew, either. So far, the only League members who knew what was going on were the Flash, Green Arrow, Batman, Black Canary and Red Tornado. Wally and Artemis had been firm in their decision to let nobody else know, and both Aqualad and Batman had agreed to respect their wishes. The only other person that they would have liked to tell would have been Roy Harper but ever since the man had learned that he was a Cadmus clone he had more or less disappeared.

And so it had remained a quiet secret, with Artemis seemingly taking a fancy to working more from within the cave as opposed to out in the field. However, during the last two weeks the team had been assigned a particularly dangerous mission involving the mysterious Light, and had been stretched thin. Artemis had agreed to return to the field for this mission, which truthfully was largely detective work. It had seemed relatively safe and she had been with the team for five days now with no problems whatsoever.

But today, it had all gone wrong.

A bomb had been triggered - nobody knew who had triggered it - inside the warehouse which was being investigated by Artemis, Superboy and Miss Martian. After the explosion, Superboy had collected the two unconscious girls and rushed them back to the mountain alongside Kid Flash, knowing that medical care was required. By the time Kaldur and Dick got there, M'gann's minor injuries had been cared for by Black Canary and Artemis was inside the medical bay with Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter, who had been called in immediately. J'onn had been hastily informed of the situation as he was adept with certain medical practices which may help the girl. They had soon been joined by Black Canary.

Kaldur delivered the essential briefing of the mission to Red Tornado, who had agreed to oversee the rest of the team until the ordeal was over. For none of the original team was willingly to leave until they knew the outcome of the accident.

Now they were gathered outside the door, none of them knowing what to say or do or what was going on inside the medical bay. It had been over half an hour and Wally's patience was wearing thin. He began pacing - too quickly, his pacing seemingly more like jogging to the others - back and forth down the hallway, unintentionally agitating the rest of the team further. Kaldur and Conner said nothing; M'gann turned her head away, scared for the girl whom she loved like a sister. After five minutes of Wally's frantic pacing, however, Dick reached out a well-timed hand and pulled his best friend over to lean against the wall next to him.  
Wally glared half-heartedly at Dick, who was now the exact same height as him (much to his distaste and his best friend's glee), but looked away when a steady, sympathetic gaze was returned. Wally was simply terrified; his girlfriend was injured and he had no idea what was going to happen to her. It had, of course, crossed his mind - as it had crossed all their minds - that the baby was also in danger, and this only further worried him. If he had not been reluctantly convinced by Martian Manhunter that he could do no good and would only get in the way, he would have been in there holding his hand right now.

As it was, he merely closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing. After a few moments he felt Dick's arm wind itself around his waist and hold on tight, a warm bar of support that managed to calm him a little. Grateful for his friend's help, Wally put one arm around the other's shoulders. The two had been best friends for years, so the half embrace was familiar and welcomed.

The team remained in their positions for a further ten minutes before the silence was interrupted by the near silent footsteps of the newly arrived Batman, who strode past the team and into the medical bay without a word. Wally felt Dick tense up and wondered if that was a bad sign or just a result of the tension that had existed between his best friend and the Bat since the former had decided to resign as Robin. A further ten minutes went by before the door opened and Flash stepped out, followed by Batman.

Wally, Dick and Kaldur turned to face the two League members. Conner and M'gann, who had both been kneeling on the ground, got to their feet to do the same. They, along with Wally, stared intently - hopefully - at them, while Kaldur and Dick held back any reaction.

Dick was the first to turn away from them, before anybody had spoken. Regardless of what arguments they might be having, he knew his mentor very well and he knew, the second their eyes had met, that the news was not good.

"Well?" Wally demanded, his voice a little louder than desired and decidedly higher due to his panic. "Are they alright!?"

It was Batman who stepped forward. "Artemis has sustained serious injuries but she'll make a full recovery."

Wally, Conner and M'gann visibly relaxed a little. The other two, however, did not; they knew already that bad news was to follow. Kaldur closed his eyes as if pained and Dick looked away from them all, fists clenching at his sides.

"And the baby?" It was M'gann who asked what Wally was afraid to.

Batman returned a wordless, cold gaze that was answer enough for all of them, but Flash nonetheless came forward and placed his two hands on his nephew's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Wally. I'm really, really sorry."

The room fell silent.

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This may be left as a oneshot or I can add more chapters, since I think it's not quite done yet. What do you guys think?

Please R&R, no flames.


	2. Chapter 2

New chapter, hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

When Batman left the room, it was with the unspoken command for the others to follow him. Every one of them noticed this but not one of them actually moved. Wally was maintaining a steady, shocked gaze with his uncle. M'gann was weeping openly, with one of Kaldur's hands on her left shoulder. Behind her, Conner hesitated to move - their relationship was still strained - but seemed to eventually decide to advance in on the girl he still cared deeply for, if only to place his hand on her right shoulder. He didn't know how to react himself; M'gann was open with her sorrow and even Kaldur seemed pained, but neither reaction seemed right for him. He decided that whatever reaction he might have could be had later, focusing his energy on supporting his friends right now.

Dick didn't know how to react, either. He certainly wasn't going to follow his old mentor's lead and merely depart, but it was clear that trying to say anything to Wally would be a wasted effort. His best friend seemed to be in shock; no real reaction, no anger yet and no grief. It hadn't sunk in yet.

When it finally did, over two full minutes later, Wally did not shout or cry or display the sort of raw emotion they had expected. Both Dick and Kaldur had been expecting something akin to his reaction to Artemis' death during the failed training simulation that none of them had ever forgotten. They had definitely not expected such a calm reaction as a shake of the head.

The Flash turned his head to Kaldur and nodded once, a plea as well as an order, before returning his eyes warily to his poor nephew. Taking the hint, Kaldur slowly maneuvered both Conner and M'gann out of the room, subtly signalling for Dick to follow them out. His friend acknowledged the gesture but did not pay it any attention.

Dick stood shoulder to shoulder with the Flash, who glared at him half-heartedly before removing his hands from Wally's shoulders and stepping back two steps; although he did not like having to release his nephew, Barry appreciated what Wally's best friend was trying to do here. Sometimes a family member isn't what you need - after all, the baby that Artemis had been carrying was Barry's family, too.

Now that Wally stood alone, his friend was able to move that little bit closer to him; from this close to him, it was obvious that the man was literally vibrating with shock. Dick almost felt bad for what he was about to do but he knew that it was necessary.  
"You have to go in there." He placed his hands on Wally's shoulders, mimicking the actions of the man's uncle. "Wally, I am so sorry. But Artemis needs you."

Wally opened his mouth as if he was going to reply - as if he _wanted _to reply - but no sound came out. The shaking increased and his eyes suddenly clenched shut, like he wanted to hide within himself and pretend that this was not happening. Dick could hardly blame him; he knew the pain of losing one's family all too well. Barry noticed that Wally reacted and very nearly stepped in, but upon the realisation that Dick was bringing the inevitable reaction to the surface he dropped back, leaning against the wall.

"I know this is horrible for you as well but she's the one who just lost a baby." He didn't have to clarify that he meant 'lost' in the technical term of miscarriage, not the generalisation that applied to everyone who had been ready to welcome the child into their lives. "Think how bad she must be feeling. She's going to need you to go in there and take care of her."

Wally looked at his best friend rather desperately. "I ... I can't go in there."

"Wally, Artemis has..."  
"I know, alright?! I know!" Wally burst out, taking a deep breath to calm himself even as two tears slid down his cheeks. "I should have protected her. This is my fault. I can't... Dick, how can I go in there and face her?"

With his fears on display, the breakdown was inevitable, but Wally had grown up. He was no longer the angry teenager who released frustration by shouting and yelling and destroying inanimate objects. He tensed as tears began to flow silently; no sobbing or wailing, just a steady stream of soundless agony. There was nothing that he could do to make it better, Dick knew that, but he would always try regardless. Watching his best friend - his brother - break down in front of him, Dick shifted his arms to properly hold Wally in a comforting embrace. Wally clung to him, hands clenching the material that covered his back; his knuckles turned white from the tension within him as he fought to stop crying.

Barry quietly made his way out of the room, sensing that his nephew was in good hands. No matter how much he wanted to be there for Wally, he was needed elsewhere and Wally would be taken care of. Somebody had to inform Iris and Wally's parents that there would be no new addition to the family, and Barry wouldn't place such a terrible burden on his nephew's shoulders.

For a few moments, Wally allowed himself to be consoled in his best friend's arms; it vaguely crossed his mind that this was a complete reversal of roles from their younger years. Back when they had been younger, back when the team was smaller and Dick was happy being Robin, it had been Wally who would hold Dick in his arms after the younger of the two had suffered some terrible trauma or had nightmares. Wally was glad that he and Dick had been able to grow up together because he wouldn't have believed, had he not seen it, that the cackling teenager he'd known was now the man who offered selfless support in the form of a hug and the gentle prodding to do the right thing. After all, Wally wanted to run and hide and wallow in self pity for a while; he had so been looking forward to being a dad.  
But he couldn't do that because this wasn't just about him. It was also about Artemis, and no matter how bad he felt, he had to go into that room and take care of his girlfriend.

Knowing that it was pointless to put it off - and unfair to Artemis - Wally managed to calm himself down. He gently pulled out of the embrace and leaned against the wall to his right. Dick stood in front of him, eyeing him with a steady gaze that was both demanding and sympathetic. Wally nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'm going in" he whispered. "Thanks."

Dick nodded once and then he left, respectfully allowing Wally a few moments to gather some much needed courage before he entered the room to face Artemis.

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So this may be the last chapter, or I may add one more that has Artemis in it. _  
_

Please R&R


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